Jack's
by Faran1078
Summary: Jack has met someone new and wants some of the other survivors to meet her, so he picks Boone and Shannon. Takes place in the fictional world of Hers.


They were going to Jack's house at his invitation, for a barbecue and to stay the night. He'd met someone new and, because the island represented such an influential part of his background, wanted to start to introduce her to some of the other survivors. He figured he'd start with Boone and Shannon because he could set up a casual get together as a couple's kind of thing, and of the three couples in the group of survivors he was close to, he thought they were the best choice. While Claire had calmed Charlie down a bit, he was still pretty hyper, besides which, he was touring with his band right now. He could have asked Sun and Jin, but Jin's English was still a bit sketchy. Because of the closeness of the relationship between the members of the small group, he anticipated that trying to introduce a stranger into things was going to be awkward enough, without a language barrier adding to it.

They pulled up in front of his house. Just as Shannon was about to knock on the door, he opened it, "Shannon!" She threw her arms around his neck.

"Hey Jack," after he'd extricated himself from Shannon, Boone gave him a hug as well, patting him on the back.

"It's _so_ great to see you guys," he was always happy to see his friends from the island. The place itself was full of bad memories, but the people remained the few good ones. "Thanks for coming. Let's go out to the back yard, Kate's waiting there."

"What?" Shannon stopped short, staring at him.

He hung his head a little shamefully, "I didn't tell you on the phone. I didn't know how you'd take it. The woman I've met, the one I asked you over to meet…well…her name's Kate." He looked up at them; "I didn't want to freak you out at the coincidence. They don't look anything alike," he added quickly, as if that excused everything.

Shannon reached for Boone's hand, backing up against him she shook her head at Jack, "I don't know, Jack, I don't know if I can handle that. How can you? You know what it was like for me when…when," she closed her eyes, and finished softly, "when she died."

"Shannon, it's only a name. It took a while for me to get used to it too, you know how much I…" he couldn't finish. He didn't want to start the day out like this. It was supposed to be a party. He looked from her to Boone, who seemed more concerned with Shannon's reaction, than the name of Jack's new friend. "Are _you _okay with this?"

"Sure Jack, like you said it's only a name. Shan'll be fine, _won't you_?" Boone said it meaning that he intended that she'd better be. If Jack wanted them to meet this woman, then he must consider her to be pretty special. While Kate had meant something to Boone, as she had to all of them, he didn't want Shannon to sour things just because the woman happened to have the same name.

"You're right, of course. It just caught me off guard, I'll be fine," she assured them both.

A blond haired woman sat by the pool, rising to greet them as they came out of the house. "Kate, this is Boone and Shannon. Guys, this is Kate Madison." They both greeted her warmly.

Jack hadn't told her much of anything about them, just that they were also survivors from the plane crash. She smiled at them, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Already knowing their preferences, Jack handed Boone a beer and Shannon a glass of wine as they moved over to sit in two of the lawn chairs. They made small talk, getting to know one another. They learned that Kate worked at the hospital with Jack; she was another one of the doctors.

As always, when near any kind of water, Boone kept glancing at the pool, wanting to be immersed in the coolness of it. The sun was hot, and he was wearing dark jeans and a tee. That Jack and Kate were already in swimsuits; and from the look of her hair, had already been in the pool; wasn't helping. Jack finally took pity on him, "You want to check out the water?"

"Yeah Jack, thanks. I'll just get our stuff from the car and change. I'll be right back out." He rose and walked rapidly towards the house.

He came out a few minutes later dressed for the pool and slid into the water.

"I'd forgotten how much he likes the water. I should have offered sooner." Jack laughed, shaking his head.

"He's always been that way. I remember when we were kids spending hours by the pool, watching him swim lengths." Shannon smiled at the memory.

"When you were kids?" Kate asked, "I assumed you'd met on the island, and hooked up there. I didn't realize you'd known each other before that."

"He's my brother," she answered absently, watching him, "I think I'll join him, excuse me," she went to change, shortly joining him in the pool.

Kate leaned back in the chair, raising her face to the sun and closing her eyes, relaxing. After a few minutes, she lifted her head and found herself looking at Boone and Shannon in the pool, he was holding her face in his hands and kissing her. What the hell? "Didn't she just say he was her _brother_?"

"Yeah, she did, but they're married now, they have a little boy, Andrew. He was born on the island, actually I delivered him, and Boone's really just her step-brother." Jack explained.

She shook her head at the strangeness of it, rising to go to the house to shower and change.

They swam a little longer, then came out to dry off and talk some more, after all, the intent of this day was to get to know Kate, and for her to become acquainted with them. Jack gave them each a second drink, as they continued their conversation. Kate immediately wanted to know more about the oddity of their relationship.

After a bit, Boone noticed that Shannon's eyes kept closing. He'd warned her about having a second glass of wine, especially while sitting in the sun. He thought about being bitchy and calling attention to the fact that she was falling asleep, but thought it better for him if he covered for her; "Shan, why don't you lie down on the grass and catch some rays?" Her eyes snapped open, he wasn't fooling her; she silently thanked him, moving to lie down on the lawn. She stretched out on her stomach, pillowing her head on her crossed arms. She was asleep in minutes. After he figured he'd let her get half an hour or so, he reached out with his foot, Shan wake up, he nudged her.

"Mmmmm?" she moaned a bit as her eyes slowly opened. She rolled over and sat up; they were all looking at her. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She rose and went to sit in the chair she'd vacated earlier.

It was warm in the sun, Boone felt sweaty and uncomfortable, so decided to go back in the water and do a few laps. It was getting later in the day and he figured Jack would probably want to have dinner soon. He definitely wanted more pool time before eating, so he excused himself.

"Jack told me you have a little boy," Kate turned to her. "Do you have any pictures?" She was a pediatrician, and so was naturally interested.

Jack started the barbecue; then went inside to shower and change and get the fish he was going to grill.

"I don't, but I think Boone does. Hold on let me check." She reached for his green bag and fished out his wallet, opening it and extracting a photograph, she held it out to Kate.

"He's a beautiful baby. He has his father's eyes." She handed the picture back to Shannon, and they continued talking.

Jack returned from his trip to the house, carrying a tray. "Boone," he called in the direction of the pool, trying to get his attention. Boone continued swimming, not able to hear. "Shannon, you try, I want to know if you guys want to shower before supper."

Kate watched as Shannon looked towards the pool. Boone stopped swimming almost immediately, standing in the water and looking back at her, "What?" he asked.

Before she could answer, Jack admonished her, "Shannon, I expected you to go over to the pool and try to get his attention. I warned you both about what you just did. You want to end up with too many questions, and not enough answers, you just keep that up," Jack shook his head at her.

Boone was still standing in the water, waiting to find out what she wanted, "Shan?"

"You wanted me to get his attention, and I did!" She ignored Boone, choosing to answer Jack instead. "We're careful, really we are! Almost no one knows, just Tom and Heather, and, I mean, it's just you, and…and…Kate. You've probably told her anyway!"

"No, Shannon, I haven't. I don't talk about what went on, not with Kate, not with anyone," Jack answered her. He didn't realize how shut out that made her sound. Kate felt as if she was invisible, not understanding anything that was going on.

"Shannon…hello? Waiting here…what do you want?" Boone tried again.

"Jack's going to put supper on. He wants to know if we want to shower first." Shannon finally chose to answer him.

He swam to the side to get out of the pool. "Yeah, I'd like to wash the chlorine off."

Jack gave up on his attempt to warn her, "If you want to shower and change before we eat, you've got 15 minutes." They both started for the house, Shannon was sliding her hand down his back as they walked away. "Shower and change _only_, 15 minutes" he called after them again, shaking his head. He already knew they wouldn't listen to him. He wondered if they'd even make it as far as the bathroom before they'd be all over each other. Boone waved a hand back at him without turning, acknowledging that he'd heard him.

"What was that all about? What was it that you warned them about?" Kate questioned him.

"It's an island thing," he answered inconclusively. He didn't feel right revealing the strange ability that the two of them had developed. It had also spread to several others, although no one else had achieved anywhere near the same degree of sensitivity that they had. He thought telling her about it wasn't his place, and also that it might lead to questions about any odd ability he might have also ended up with, questions he wasn't prepared to deal with. He smiled as he sensed that he'd been right about the two inside the house not making it to the bathroom.

As they entered the house and moved away from the door Shannon pushed him up against the wall, kissing him and sliding her hands under the waist band of his shorts. "Shan, don't, Jack said…" Boone started to protest.

"Jack said we have 15 minutes, let's make good use out of them," she pulled him down the hall. They made love as they showered; sliding softly over one another as the soap they'd lathered onto each other acted as a lubricant.

Twenty minutes later Shannon came out the back door, drinking from a bottle of water. "Where's Boone?" Jack questioned.

She waved her hand back at the house, "He's making a salad. When we were getting water out of the fridge he saw the bowl on the counter and the lettuce and stuff in the fridge, so, you know Boone," she shrugged, "get him in a kitchen and he just starts making stuff." She smiled at Kate, "He does all the cooking at home. He's pretty good at it too."

They ate outside at the patio table, then, as darkness settled, they moved into the living room. Over the course of the day they'd both come to the realization that they really liked Kate, but then they'd expected to. Jack would never have made a bad choice, so they knew even before they'd met her, that she'd be perfect for him. Kate liked them as well, although she found them a little strange. The island experiences they'd shared with Jack made her feel detached from the three of them.

As it got later, he felt Shannon leaning harder and harder against him as she fought to stay awake. She'd had a couple more glasses of wine with dinner, and, as always, it made her sleepy. He pushed her into a sitting position for the fifth time, "I think we'll head off now, excuse us. Kate, it was a real pleasure." He held out his hand to help Shannon up from the couch; then led her from the room.

In their bedroom, they undressed each other slowly, and slipped between the sheets, pressing against one another. He slid on top of her and they gently made love. She gasped his name in his ear as she came, minutes later.

As she was falling asleep she felt something nudging at her subconscious, she recognized that it was Jack and that he was upset. Boone could feel it too, but it was Shannon who spoke first. "It's Jack. I think he's talking about Kate, remembering…when she died. I…I want to go to him. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." She slipped away from his side and out of the bed. Putting his t-shirt on to cover herself, she padded quietly down the hall and stood listening at the entrance to the living room. Jack was sitting in the same chair he'd been in when they'd gone to bed, his back now partially turned to her.

"…always did that. Not that she would have listened to me. She never did. When she went out that day, I never suspected that I'd never see her alive again," she'd been right, he _was_ talking about Kate. She felt the tears start to well in her eyes. Jack was staring into space; lost in his memories, not looking at Kate, seated on the couch. Shannon felt how close to tears he was himself, "I don't know if Claire had had a premonition that rescue was close, and had warned her, do you Shannon?"

Kate looked up suddenly, just now seeing her. Jack had his back to her, how had he known she was there, she wondered, when she, actually facing the girl, hadn't been aware of her presence?

At his question, Shannon approached him. Reaching him, she rubbed his shoulder then moved around to kneel in front of him, resting her head on his knees. She was crying softly, he absently stroked her hair. "I don't know, Jack, I've never asked her. I never even considered that Claire might have known and said something to her." She looked up at him, suddenly becoming more upset." We all relied on her to be _okay_…she was the strong one, the one the women all needed as an example. If she was okay, with all the risks she took, then we were going to be too," she started crying harder; lowering her head again. "It's not fair, it's not fair. She should have been okay! She shouldn't have died, she should _be_ here," she sobbed.

"But Shannon, you know that she _wouldn't_ be here, she'd be in prison somewhere, caged," he lost the battle to fight back his tears. "After the freedom of the island, even with all of the dangers, she couldn't have taken it. She told me herself that she wouldn't let that happen, that she knew she couldn't survive. When we found her body, all mangled and broken, in spite of my grief, all I could think was that she was now free, that she'd never have to face an uncertain future back in society in the event rescue ever came." He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her; they hugged each other, united in their sorrow.

Kate watched them, feeling like the outsider she was. How could anyone, how could _she,_ ever understand what they'd all gone through.

Jack seemed to be getting himself back under control. He raised his face from her shoulder, "Boone, take your sister back to bed." She looked up startled to see the young man, dressed only in a pair of jeans, standing just behind the two in the chair. How had Jack known he was there? Boone reached down and gently helped Shannon to her feet. Still crying, she slid her arms around his shoulders, the t-shirt riding up as she raised her arms. Kate realized that she was naked under the thin cotton. He picked her up and carried her from the room, as Jack resumed his story.

Back in the bedroom Boone tried to lay her down on the bed, but she clung to him and wouldn't release her grip. He moved awkwardly to lie beside her; holding her until she cried herself to sleep.


End file.
